Pride, Among Other Things
by practicingproductivity
Summary: Reina makes some homemade fudge for Kumiko on Valentine's Day. Kumiko makes an honest mistake. Kumirei 7DS.


**A/N:** Probably a little OOC but oh well. I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.

...

Fudge. Chocolate melted plus some stuff added like vanilla and milk. How hard could it be? Well, when you've never made it before and aren't exactly gifted in the kitchen, turns out it could be pretty difficult as Reina learned the hard way.

She'd bought one of those heart-shaped boxes you were supposed to use as a mold when she finally settled on the right recipe. She'd given herself a week before Valentine's Day to find and master the perfect recipe, and on day four it was beginning to feel like she hadn't given herself enough time. At first she had fallen into the trap of thinking the fancier the fudge, the more love it conveyed. Whether or not that was true did not change the fact that the three times she tried (without burning the chocolate), the fudge. Would. Not. Set. Even after leaving it overnight. The outcome was more like oily fudge pudding, which didn't taste all that bad, but it wasn't _fudge._

So she went for simpler. It turned out timing was everything. If she wasn't careful the chocolate mixture would harden before she could add the rest of the ingredients. She tried measuring out everything in cups and small bowls beforehand, so she could just grab it and throw it in. Somehow, doing that she had ended up with two bowls of salt instead of one of salt _and_ sugar each. It goes without saying the fudge was disgusting.

She was running out of time. Reina turned to microwave fudge recipes. That couldn't possibly go wrong. Except for when it did, after the mixture boiled over and it came out like chocolate-flavored sand. This happened more than once.

Finally, late on the eve of Valentine's Day, she had managed to produce a fudge that both tasted good and had the right texture. Her knees were weak with relief as they gave out and she slid down to the kitchen floor, the corners of her eyes moist with happy tears. She had done it. It had only taken all week, but she did it.

She grabbed the counter top and pulled herself up. The red box in front of her was empty, and it mocked her. She didn't trust herself to succeed a second time so this time she could pour it straight into the mold. No, she didn't have time to even try. She couldn't risk it. Reina narrowed her eyes at the offending container, and with a defiant flip of her hair, she reached for the sharpest knife in the apartment. She snatched up the box, planted it face down on top of the brick of fudge and began to carve.

…

"It's Reina-chan!" Hazuki announced Reina's arrival to their classroom. She was seated backwards, her arms resting on the back of her chair.

"Are you gonna have lunch with us today?" Midori asked.

"Happy Valentine's Day," said Kumiko, offering Reina a friendly smile.

Reina greeted the group as she joined them by the window, her bentou in one hand and a small paper bag in the other. She snatched up a chair Kumiko's neighbor had abandoned and placed the bag on top of Kumiko's desk.

"I got everyone chocolates," Reina said, beginning to pull them out one by one. They were just store bought, nothing special. She was saving the fudge for Kumiko. It was waiting inside her desk back in Reina's classroom for the right moment to be delivered.

"That's so nice of you!" Midori exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "I got everyone chocolates too!"

"Me too," Kumiko chuckled.

"Same!" Hazuki beamed.

They passed around the sweets. There was a guilty satisfaction upon tasting the others', where Reina felt her fudge tasted much better. She was confident Kumiko would love it. Every time their eyes met, her stomach swam with excitement. She could barely keep track of the conversation with her pulse thrumming so loudly in her ears.

The anticipation made the day drag – counting down the hours, the minutes until Reina would make her feelings known. She pulled Kumiko aside after band practice.

"Can I talk to you?" Reina tapped Kumiko's shoulder lightly.

"Yeah, sure." Kumiko's expression didn't show she had any inkling of what Reina might do – was about to do.

Reina slung her school bag over her shoulder as they left the club room. They looked for an empty classroom, but there were other clubs still finishing up so they found themselves in the stairwell.

"What's up?" Kumiko asked, leaning against the wall with her arms folded behind her. Her head was cocked to the side as she regarded Reina with a curious gaze.

Reina could feel her cheeks growing hot, and suddenly the excitement from earlier had morphed into anxiety. Her neck muscles had also somehow lost the strength to lift her head, her eyes able to go no higher than Kumiko's knees. She fumbled for the small paper bag that was hidden among her things and thrust it toward Kumiko with two trembling hands.

"Here," she blurted eloquently.

"Huh?" Kumiko pushed away from the wall and straightened her posture. "What's this?"

"I'm giving it to you," Reina said to Kumiko's knees. "I made it myself."

"I don't understand," Kumiko said as she slowly took the bag Reina was offering. "You already gave me chocolates."

Reina stole a look at the other girl's face to catch Kumiko peeking inside. She would see the heart-shaped box, wrapped with in a bow made of sheer gold ribbon. The card addressed to Kumiko in her neatest handwriting. Next Kumiko would open up the card. Then she would give her reply. Reina's heart did a somersault.

"I know," Reina fought to keep her voice even, "but these are-"

"Oh! I get it!" Kumiko's face lit up, a sly grin tugging unevenly at her lips.

Reina grinned back, finally able to breathe freely again. "Yeah."

"These are for Taki-sensei, aren't they?" said Kumiko.

Wait, what? Reina's chest went cold for a second.

"You're too embarrassed to be seen giving them to him yourself so you want me to leave these on his desk, right?" Kumiko went on, and the more she kept talking, the deeper Reina's heart sunk into her stomach. "I'm surprised. No offense, but I thought you'd be bold enough to deliver them yourself"

"That's not-" Reina started to protest. The fudge she'd worked so hard to be proud of to give to the person she liked, was never going to reach their intended target like this. She felt tears pricking the edges of her eyes as the panic began to set in.

But Kumiko cut her off with the wave of a hand. "You don't have to be so embarrassed. I get it. I've gotta hurry though if I'm gonna catch him before he leaves."

With that Kumiko hustled down to the staff offices with Reina shouting protests on her tail.

"Too late to wuss out now," Kumiko teased, slipping into the room. "Good, he's not here."

As luck would have it, as soon as Kumiko popped back into the hall, Taki-sensei was strolling towards them. He stopped when he reached them.

"Was there something you wanted to talk to me about?" Taki-sensei tilted his head slightly.

"Nope, nothing. Someone just left their valentine behind in the clubroom and we thought it'd be safe to leave it with you," Kumiko fibbed. "I put it on your desk."

Was this Cupid's idea of a sick joke?

Taki-sensei smiled at her. "That was kind of you to make sure it makes its way back to the right owner. I'll go take a look."

Kumiko flashed Reina another grin and Reina just wilted on the inside. She could no longer explain herself. Not with Taki-sensei right there. She wanted to cry.

"Oumae-san?" Taki-sensei called after them.

"Yes?"

He rejoined them in the hall. "Did you look inside the bag before you brought it to me?"

Reina shrunk back.

"Uh, not really, no. Why?" Kumiko blinked at him.

He held it out to her. "Because the card inside is addressed to you."

Kumiko's jaw fell all the way to the floor, and when she spun around to question Reina, she was already gone.

 **...**

 **A/N:** Thank you for reading this far! I hope you liked it! If you want to keep up to date with each new entry in the 7 deadly sins series, subscribe to me as an author (not this fic). Each entry is posted as its own story. Your feedback is also strongly encouraged. Thanks!


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